A warning has been issued by a Labour MP to cabinet ministers, indicating that if they do not remove Keir Starmer, she will take action herself. Catherine West, a former junior foreign office minister, has given ministers a deadline until Monday to select a new leader from within the cabinet. She emphasized the need for a smooth transition without a leadership election by having a cabinet member step up as the new leader.
If the cabinet fails to act, Catherine West stated that she would present herself as a leadership candidate and seek support from Labour MPs. To trigger a leadership contest, any challenger would require backing from a minimum of 81 fellow Labour MPs, with West claiming to already have secured ten supporters. She expressed surprise that other potential leadership contenders like Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner had not yet made a move.
Suggesting a potential role shift for the Prime Minister, West proposed moving him to an international position that he might enjoy. She urged for effective communication and a focus on addressing voters’ concerns to move the party forward. West stressed the importance of identifying a leader who can effectively convey Labour’s values and programs to the public.
As the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet since 2015, Catherine West has previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific. There is no formal procedure for a confidence vote to remove a Labour leader, but a challenger to Keir Starmer would need support from 81 MPs to initiate a leadership contest. The Labour Party’s National Executive Committee would determine the timeline for a leadership election.
While speculation surrounds potential successors to Starmer, including Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham, there is currently no clear frontrunner. Catherine West’s pledge to challenge Starmer with the backing of ten MPs aims to prompt action from a potential leadership candidate within the Cabinet.
